Paul Givan
Lagan Valley · Democratic Unionist Party · Northern Ireland
“The EA's enhanced support model has been out for consultation. The Member's party is the largest political grouping on the Education Authority, so his party supported the model's being consulted on.”
“Protections around strike action and action short of strike are firmly established in statute for all workers, including teachers. If the Member is referring to the Education Inspections Bill, let me be clear: nothing in that legislation removes or undermines that right.”
“The issue was covered at length at the Education Committee. The position is still not where it ought to be. When I came into office, the position that I inherited was much worse than it is today.”
“It is an area that I have had to navigate, as have many previous Education Ministers. Industrial relations is an area that needs ongoing work. I have outlined how we can address it, but I come back to saying that, when workload was undefined, trade unions struggled to specify the challenge.”
“That is not a fair characterisation. In fact, I was with Justin McCamphill, the leader of NASUWT, at the launch of the curriculum reform, at which he commended me for it and said that he thought that it was good. I have sat in many a meeting with trade union representatives during which they have said, "This is a good initiative.”
“That is exactly why there is a 16-week consultation period, rather than the normal 12 weeks or the minimum eight weeks; to allow the public and teaching profession to very much engage in that curriculum, which I commend to all Members.”
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“I appeal to people that we should not litigate our way through trying to get a policy outcome that clearly contravened the legislation that was passed in the Assembly in 2022 — legislation that my party did not support. The courts have upheld my interpretation of the way in which that legislation ought to be applied.”
“There were two court cases. The most recent decision at the Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the first court, and that validated my decision not to approve proposals to transform Rathmore Primary School and Bangor Academy. The court recognised the statutory duty to engage, facilitate and support integrated education but confirmed that article 92(6) of the Education Reform (Northern Ireland) Order 1989 is a mandatory test. That was an important decision by the Court of Appeal. <BR /> <BR />Unnecessary expenditure has been incurred by my Department. Tens of thousands of pounds have been spent on representing our position in the courts, and an unnecessary legal challenge was taken, not once but twice.”
“That paper was on providing dedicated funding to improve the infrastructure in our special schools. I met the Finance Minister recently, and an updated paper on the SEN capital programme has been provided to the Executive; it is still not on the agenda for discussion. What more can I, as the Education Minister, do to make the case for children with special educational needs before it is reciprocated in the Executive? I appreciate that Sinn Féin’s Members are very supportive of providing support to children with SEN, as am I. Will you have a word with your colleagues in the Executive?”
“It is not just the last 12 months. When I came into office, I commissioned work to identify the issue with SEN provision and the capacity in our schools. All 39 special schools supporting children with severe learning difficulties needed school enhancements. The work that is needed has been identified and mapped out. We have also identified the work that needs to be done to facilitate specialist provision in mainstream education. I then brought a paper on a 10-year dedicated SEN capital programme to the Executive. <BR /> <BR />The Member asked about the strategic decisions and actions that I have taken in the last 12 months. A paper sat with the Executive for nearly a year before Sinn Féin allowed it on to the agenda for discussion — not even agreement.”
“The current process involves ongoing consideration of admissions and statementing, and then the placement is aligned with the statement. I caution Members against saying that all children should receive the name of the school that they will attend in September on the same date. We could place the children, but the placements would not be the right one. A significant improvement has been made, through interventions by the Department and the EA, to engage more schools in this particular issue.”
“The issue was covered at length at the Education Committee. The position is still not where it ought to be. When I came into office, the position that I inherited was much worse than it is today. Changes have been made to the process for providing placements; there has been engagement with schools across the Province; needs have been identified and mapped out; and we have proactively reached out to the schools. That approach has proved successful. <BR /> <BR />We still need to work through a number of placements. Children are currently being assessed. If we had a cut-off point that meant that we placed children with SEN on the basis of their status on the same date as pupils who are not being statemented, those children would have a placement, but it would likely be in a school that was not the most appropriate for them.”
“However, I appeal to Sinn Féin Members and the Sinn Féin members of the Education Committee to engage with their Finance Minister and First Minister to help me to help your constituents. I believe that they want to provide me with the support that is needed, but the request has been there for weeks, and we have not seen any movement.”
“I listened to the First Minister talk about childcare being a priority, yet, when it comes to decisions in the Executive, Sinn Féin takes money away and makes a real-terms cut in that area. By way of an Executive paper, I have provided a figure for the funding that is needed: it is £75 million. I have also sought the funding through urgent procedure, because there are real-world consequences for many early learning and childcare providers if it is not provided. It is a ring-fenced pot of funding that does not sit in my Department; it sits separately. Unless the funding is provided, there will be a reduction, and that would be an indictment of the Executive. We are at a critical point. There should be an Executive meeting on Thursday, and I will continue to make the point.”
“This is an area that, rightly, the Executive have prioritised. It is a Programme for Government commitment, and it is one of the projects that I believe the Executive can rightly be proud of delivering. My Department has been responsible for moving at pace, and there are many strands to it that have been very successfully implemented. The early learning and childcare strategy that was consulted on indicated that, for the first year of its operation — this year — approximately £75 million would be required to allow us to move forward with a number of schemes. However, the Sinn Féin Budget only allocated £55 million this year, £65 million next year and £75 million the following year. That is the height of Sinn Féin's Finance Minister's ambition in the draft Budget, which I continue to oppose.”
“We are at a critical point in relation to the early learning and childcare strategy. I published the ELC on 17 December. It was approved by the Executive. There was a 14-week public consultation that ended on 24 March. A total of 469 responses were received by the closing date. Officials are completing a comprehensive analysis of the written responses, along with the findings of the public consultation events. Findings from the consultation will be published shortly, and the publication and implementation of the final ELC strategy will be subject to Executive agreement and the necessary budget being made available.”
“I am happy to find out more about that. The Member rightly articulates the need for support for looked-after children. The Jones report looked at the services that sit across Education, Justice and Health. I am happy to look into the particular issues that the Member has raised.”
“I will have to come back to the Member on that one. It is not something that has been brought to my attention until now.”
“Maybe if I had had that opportunity and had been exposed to that language in primary school, I would have performed a lot better. I will not embarrass myself by letting her know what I got in that particular exam. When it comes to primary-school teaching, we do not have teachers coming through at primary-school level who are qualified experts in foreign languages. That is part of the reason why that recommendation has not been taken forward. I wish to see modern languages being taught in our primary schools, but the reason why that has not been taken forward is partly workforce connected. However, we should aspire to do that.”
“It is important to say that what has been produced is the curriculum framework. It is not the detailed school-level curriculum; it is a statutory minimum requirement to be taught in all our schools. It is the minimum content. One of the issues that people have brought to me — Members have talked about this — is teacher workload. Ultimately, schools will be able to teach further areas of the curriculum. They will not be limited to what I have produced. That will be a minimum, as opposed to a maximum. <BR /> <BR />On the issue around modern languages, I have every sympathy for the Member. The first time that I tried to learn French was in post-primary school when I went into year 8. I had never tried it in my primary school.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Member is right that the most recent curriculum was published over 20 years ago. It was the wrong curriculum. We took a wrong turn. It was not an effective way of trying to impart the knowledge that we believe ought to be given to our young people. That is why Northern Ireland has gone down in all international measurements. We have poorer outcomes compared with many other countries, not least the Republic of Ireland, where pupils outperform pupils from Northern Ireland in nearly every area. Either we retain the status quo, which is failing, or make the change. The change has been enabled by the teaching professionals who were involved in drafting the curriculum, and now it is open to everybody to present their views before being finalised.”
“That is exactly why there is a 16-week consultation period, rather than the normal 12 weeks or the minimum eight weeks; to allow the public and teaching profession to very much engage in that curriculum, which I commend to all Members. The curriculum was developed through 13 subject working groups: over 70 local teachers, some of whom, I am sure, were from the Member's constituency, from every sector, including controlled, Catholic maintained, integrated, all put forward their support to develop the new curriculum. It is their curriculum, not mine. I was not involved in any of the of the subject working groups or the drafting of any of the curriculum, so there was no political involvement on my part. I therefore commend what we are trying to achieve with the curriculum to the profession and to wider society.”
“We are trying to make changes in the context of financial constrictions. The Member's ministerial colleague challenges me all the time on financial expenditure in the Department of Education and on what changes are being made. There is no more money coming from the Member's Minister. If Sinn Féin is going to provide the funding, I would appreciate the Member getting confirmation of that from his Minister.”
“The EA's enhanced support model has been out for consultation. The Member's party is the largest political grouping on the Education Authority, so his party supported the model's being consulted on. If we retain the current provision, which is not working and is failing children, we will consign many more young people to an education system that does not work. The EA is piloting the enhanced support model in 150 schools that have already made changes whereby they have general support to the whole school. <BR /> <BR />Not one classroom assistant will be made redundant as a result of the changes — not one. They will, however, lead to a more effective way of deploying that resource to the whole school and getting general support, with specialisms involved, so that children who do not have a statement can get the appropriate support.”
“Ongoing engagement with classroom assistants is a key part of the process. During the public consultation on the enhanced support model, the EA held targeted sessions to hear directly from classroom assistants and better understand how their roles may evolve.”
“<BR /> <BR />A dedicated work stream in the enhanced support model has been established to focus on exploring a new employment model for classroom assistants, enabling them to develop specialist expertise in special educational needs categories, with appropriate reward for those enhanced skills. To support that work, the Department has commissioned Ulster University to examine best practice in employment models and career progression across other jurisdictions. In the new academic year, it will also engage directly with school staff to better understand the skills and expertise required to meet the needs of their children.”
“Classroom assistants are a highly valued part of the education workforce, and their contribution will remain essential, irrespective of any new model of support that is provided for children and young people who have a statement of special educational needs. <BR /> <BR />Recognising the urgent need to address the challenges faced by that workforce and the ongoing uncertainty associated with temporary contracts in particular, my officials are working closely with their EA colleagues to ensure that classroom assistants are given proper recognition through improved employment arrangements, clearer role definitions and meaningful pathways for development and progression.”
“I am so passionate about removing mobile phones from our schools because the schools that operated and consistently applied the technology have seen a notable decrease in poor behaviour, an increase in academic output and a decrease in wider community engagement. That is because you no longer have messages going from students at school to their parents and the parents coming unannounced to the school, which can lead to tensions at entry points to the school, and you do not have videos and photographs being taken that end up on Facebook, which then creates further tension. All of that has to be managed by our schools. That has been one small but impactful measure that we have taken forward. I await the independent evaluation by King's College of the policy that I wanted to introduce.”
“The trade unions have also raised with me the issue of managing behaviour in our schools and the different practices that exist across Northern Ireland. That is why we will move forward with an independent review of behaviour-management practices in our schools. I hope to make progress on that in due course. We need to make sure that there is an effective way of managing behaviour. Ultimately, there will be disruption, but you have to minimise that. You cannot allow the overwhelming majority to be negatively impacted on by disruption. <BR /> <BR />I encourage Members to engage with the schools that piloted mobile phone-inhibiting devices.”
“It will help teachers to manage their workload and will be a more effective way of taking forward the curriculum. <BR /> <BR />It will also help with the processes for assessment and qualifications. We have many subjects that require a heavy workload for controlled assessment. That places a burden on a lot of teachers. As we move forward, assessment processes will be aligned with qualification reform. That will free up our teachers to do what they do best and what they went into the profession to do: teach, without being encumbered by ineffective curriculum, assessment and qualification processes that have contributed significantly to their workload.”
“TransformED has many strands. Many of those who were involved in developing TransformED and, in particular, the curriculum are local practitioners. I thank the more than 70 local teachers from different sectors who sat on the 13 subject working groups. The curriculum is now out for consultation, providing an opportunity for people to engage in the process. <BR /> <BR />The outworking of the curriculum aspect of TransformED will be a reduction in teacher workload. The current curriculum is vague, high-level and abstract and requires a lot of interpretation for the teaching profession to deliver lesson plans. The new curriculum, however, will have greater specific content. We are also seeking to develop materials that align with the teaching aspect.”
“That is why, tomorrow, our team will sit down with the Labour Relations Agency as part of the conciliation process. I have reached out to the LRA and asked it to engage — I have gone through the process and am therefore seeking external support — and we have until the end of the summer to make further progress. I hope that we will be able to do so, as that will ultimately be in the interests of everybody involved.”
“It is an area that I have had to navigate, as have many previous Education Ministers. Industrial relations is an area that needs ongoing work. I have outlined how we can address it, but I come back to saying that, when workload was undefined, trade unions struggled to specify the challenge. They said so to me, and I replied, "Let's set up a three-member panel, and you appoint one of your members to sit on it", which they did. A senior industrial trade unionist was their representative. The panel made 27 recommendations that I am seeking to take forward, yet there is still a dispute. We need to work through the implementation of the recommendations, some of which will be impacted on if industrial action is invoked and we cannot then reform some of the burdens. <BR /> <BR />I very much want to work with the trade unions.”
“I want to be in a situation in which we do not need our young people to come through a statementing process because their needs have been identified in early years. I want schools to have the resource available to make that intervention, which can be provided not just to children with statements but to those who have additional needs but have not been through a statementing process. Reform is therefore required, but one of the 27 recommendations seeks to address schools' administrative workload by providing support to enable that burden to be lifted.”
“We very much want to support SENCOs. That is part of the wider SEN reform approach that we need to see in our schools. The Member, like other Members, will know that demand is increasing, yet we have a finite resource available to help. One of the recommendations of the report suggested that wider administrative support be provided to schools. Such an administrative function would assist the whole school rather than one element of the school exclusively, and that could help reduce the burden of the paperwork that can be involved. <BR /> <BR />We need to ask, however, what information that is being sought is absolutely essential and whether that is appropriate and proportionate to enable effective decisions to be taken.”
“The Department remains committed to resolving the dispute through meaningful and constructive dialogue, and there will be ongoing discussions between the Department, management side of the Teachers' Negotiating Committee (TNC) and the NITC trade unions in an attempt to reach a resolution and thus avoid industrial action. We are also engaging the services of the Labour Relations Agency (LRA) to help with the conciliation process. <BR /> <BR />While the ongoing dispute may result in delays to certain aspects of delivery in the action plan, reducing the workload of teachers and school leaders remains a priority. In parallel with further engagement with the NITC, we will therefore continue to progress the actions in the published plan where implementation is possible in the current circumstances.”
“At the end of April 2026, I published the workload action plan. That plan translates the recommendations of the independent review panel into practical, deliverable and time-bound measures. The plan addresses each of the 27 recommendations either fully or in part with clear ownership, governance arrangements and timescales for delivery. Importantly, the plan also includes a number of significant measures that go beyond the panel's recommendations, including the provision of additional administrative support for schools and the full roll-out of generative AI to streamline routine tasks. <BR /> <BR />Members will be aware that the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council (NITC) unions have notified the Department that they are in dispute over the workload action plan.”
“When inflation occurred, we increased the cap so that the value of the 15% also increased. Members have rightly raised issues about ensuring accountability regarding costs. We are alert to that, but there are also trade-offs when it comes to a highly-regulated market. There is the setting up of the system to carry out the regulation, the costs associated with that regulation and the need for a cost-benefit analysis of the most effective way to support families that need the support.”
“There is an element of regulation and how that can be effective or the way in which parents will choose whom they want to care for their children. If a provider is doing it for significantly less than others, I suspect that those in the expensive range will not be able to maintain their services. There is, therefore, an element of the market regulating itself, but I am not averse to considering ways in which we can help to control the situation that many parents are having to navigate with childcare providers. <BR /> <BR />Key for me was rapidly getting a scheme in place. We attached it to the UK tax-free system, which provided integrity for those who were eligible. We rolled that scheme out at pace, and it has delivered tens of millions of pounds of savings and benefits for families.”
“Clear levels of support go directly to providers in that circumstance, and that is something that the Executive do not have the funding to do. We need to support hard-working families when it comes to childcare costs, which we have been doing, but of course we could do more.”
“A key lesson on fee-capping arrangements in other jurisdictions is that they were supported by a detailed understanding of the cost of providing quality childcare. The Republic of Ireland, England and Scotland commissioned independent research to establish the cost of delivering quality childcare, and that informed the provider funding models. In Northern Ireland, we do not currently have the equivalent evidence base. We have information on fees charged by providers but no information on the underlying costs associated with delivering high-quality childcare through the mixed model of provision in Northern Ireland. Understanding those costs would help to inform discussion on a fee-capping arrangement.”
“We need to be sure, however, that the subsidy is not increasing costs because they believe that it is now a subsidised payment. <BR /> <BR />The Republic of Ireland, which introduced the capping of fees, provides over €500 million to childcare providers as part of their core funding. Capping fees involves providing a core subsidy to providers, which facilitates the capping of fees. It cannot be a case of fees being capped and the value of the 15% not being eroded. Providers will then need a direct subsidy, which will come from Stormont, so, ultimately, the taxpayer will still have to pay. <BR /> <BR />The Member rightly raises issues that we are considering. Better transparency will help us to hold providers to greater accountability.”
“The Member is right when she says that parents have an expectation that the subsidy will have a meaningful impact on fees. I hope to publish the findings of the consultation on the childcare strategy in the next number of days and to report on that and the next steps. The consultation indicated that we want to move the subsidy from 15% to 50% over time, subject to the finance being available to allow us to do that, and it is important that parents feel the benefit of it. I accept that all providers have faced the same increase in the cost of living and the increase in National Insurance contributions that the Westminster Government brought in. Those have had an impact, so providers will want to pass on some of those costs.”
“<BR /> <BR />As we develop the final early learning and childcare strategy, we will continue to monitor childcare affordability, costs and wider market developments. We will actively consider and bring forward additional measures, including estimated costs, informed by ongoing engagement with parents, providers, experts and the wider sector.”
“Any comparable approach in Northern Ireland would require careful consideration of the legislative, regulatory and additional financial implications. Therefore, in the absence of significant additional funding required by the Executive, I did not propose to introduce a fee-capping model at this stage. However, while fee capping is not currently proposed in the draft strategy, I recognise the importance of ensuring that childcare remains affordable for families. I have therefore included actions relating to fee publication and transparency to strengthen market transparency, support informed parental choice and improve our understanding of childcare costs and fee trends across the sector.”
“During the development of the draft early learning and childcare strategy, I considered the potential of fee-capping arrangements as one possible approach to supporting families with the costs of childcare. However, it is important to recognise that around 80% of day-care provision in Northern Ireland is privately operated, and there is no legislative framework for direct government control of childcare fees. <BR /> <BR />Experience from other jurisdictions demonstrates that successful fee-capping arrangements are not simply a matter of imposing limits on prices. They are typically underpinned by substantial levels of public funding and contractual arrangements with providers to compensate them for restrictions on the fees that they can charge parents.”
“In my earlier response, I explained that there will be circumstances that justify such an approach, where it is appropriate. It is important that we move forward, particularly when it comes to the likes of professional development — that has not been addressed for many years — to support our teaching profession. The approach that was taken in that instance was subject to the appropriate checks being carried out before it was signed off. There will be other examples not only in my Department but in others where direct award contracts have been secured. It is not unusual for that to be the case when it comes to trying to take forward issues, particularly where it is deemed to be the appropriate way of doing things.”
“If there have been any direct award contracts, a process will have been followed. That is normal practice. The process includes a determination of whether it is value for money. If the Member is referring to a particular example with those details, I will be happy to look into it and provide any assurances that he wants. This is a normal practice, but it is clearly governed by criteria to ensure that the issues that he raises are addressed in the consideration before it is signed off.”
“"Direct award payments" is not a recognised term. The Member might mean "direct award contracts". If so, those are permitted in limited and clearly defined circumstances and where there are compelling reasons why competition is not possible or appropriate.”
“I am happy to give the Member a written update on that. It was not connected to the substantive question, so I do not have any information on it.”
“I am happy to facilitate the request from the Member for Upper Bann. Part of the frustration that King's Park and many schools face is the very lengthy list of capital works programmes and school enhancement programmes to be taken forward. Those could be taken forward with a much greater allocation of capital funding to my Department. I continue to make the case for that capital funding. The draft Budget that was consulted on showed an inadequate allocation that Sinn Féin had put out into the public domain. One of the reasons why I do not support the draft Budget is that I am standing with our schools to get more funding, but I will be happy to meet the Member on that particular school.”
“A business case to identify the preferred option to be taken forward in design is being prepared by the Education Authority. It is anticipated that that business case will be lodged with the Department for consideration in the coming weeks. Should business case approval be granted, design work on the preferred option will be progressed by the appointed integrated consultant team, and a project programme will be developed.”
“Those things were all affected during action short of strike, so I say again to Members: are we prepared to compromise when it comes to ensuring the highest possible standards in our schools and the protection of our children and young people? I am not prepared to compromise on that.”
“<BR /> <BR />The Education and Training Inspectorate cannot fully evaluate child protection arrangements without a secure evidence base. Inspection of safeguarding does not equate to the scrutiny of the safeguarding pro forma or policy. The evidence base included distribution of surveys to gain individual views of parents and pupils, in particular where pupils feel safe at school; discussions with groups of pupils; meetings with the designated teacher and school safeguarding team; discussions with all staff to ascertain awareness and understanding of school policies and procedures; and the observation of ethos, culture, interactions and relationships in the classroom.”
“I have heard that put forward by some, and it is wrong to claim that inspection processes were not impacted on by action short of strike, including when it came to issues around safeguarding. In the 2022-23 academic year, several years after protracted industrial action commenced, the unions agreed to include exemptions that permitted members to cooperate in the event of "legitimate matters of safeguarding". However, to suggest that that meant that safeguarding was unaffected overlooks a key point. Unannounced safeguarding inspections are only requested when a safeguarding concern or an allegation has already been raised. Routine inspections, essential for identifying safeguarding issues that have gone unnoticed or where child protection arrangements require improvement, were still obstructed.”
“I am putting in place proper processes to ensure that, when it comes to the inspection of our schools, which includes children's safeguarding, we do not compromise. The Member might be prepared to compromise on it, but that is a price that I am not prepared to pay.”